New First Year Experience Program Honors Winning Teams in its First Cohort

Over 65 first year students and upper class mentors attended the first award ceremony for the newly launched First Year Experience (FYE) program, a year-long slate of activities and workshops that supports students in their transition from high school to university, teaching them “how to be a Hoya.”

The FYE program was launched this year to extend the benefits of New Student Orientation (NSO) week.The expansion of orientation activities, says Laura Hiatt, associate director of academic services, strengthens those efforts, and ensures that students aren’t overwhelmed with too much information at one time.

This semester, a total of nine workshops were offered that targeted a specific skill building activity linked to both academic and personal success. The program uses a fun and competitive point system for both individual and team attendance, and sophomore, junior and senior students are hired to serve as team captains tasked with encouraging and motivating first year student team members. 

Prizes were given to the top three teams in the semester, with first place going to “#TeamBilal,” led by team captain Bilal Tahir (GU-Q’22),  second place going to “jawaher[1] ,” led by team captain Jawaher Alshamari (GU-Q’22), and third place to “Hoya Snaxa” led by Malak Elmoh (GU-Q’21).  Participation certificates were given to the 73 students who attended at least three activities in the program, which encouraged students to determine the most relevant topics for them personally, and balance participation with other commitments.

Workshop topics covered everything from writing research papers and citing work like a pro, to managing study stress and understanding how interpersonal communication can impact engagement with students, faculty and staff.

“We want students to succeed academically, but to do that, they need support well beyond the classroom,” says Hiatt, “The program communicates expectations about Georgetown values and academic success, but it also facilitates social wellbeing in our highly diverse and inclusive community. Helping students adjust and adapt to the new surroundings and high expectations removes a lot of the stress that keeps students from reaching their full potential.”

The second semester of the program continues to provide support, but tapers off, as students gain confidence and the skills needed to navigate university life.

Hiatt leads the Onboarding and Transition Task Force that organizes FYE.  Other members of the task force were nominated by Brendan Hill, senior associate dean for students, Anne Nebel, associate dean for teaching, learning and assessment, and James MacGregor, associate dean of academic affairs, to ensure that all aspects of student support are addressed. The task force gathers input from both student-facing, and non-student facing departments to recommend policies and procedures that ensure that incoming students feel welcome, have the information they need to succeed and have opportunities to reflect and gain from their first-year experiences.